


Into the Unknown

by orphan_account



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: F/F, M/M, Multi, Not a fairytale au and Not really a "hunter" au but. kinda in the middle, graphic violence is kinda an overstatement here but for warning, hunter jesse and fareeha, jesse is farees adoptive brother, mercy is literally an angel, out of place holes references?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-14
Updated: 2016-09-19
Packaged: 2018-08-08 16:06:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,534
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7764316
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Fareeha and Jesse. Jesse and Fareeha. the tag team to end all tag teams, stars of Ms Amari's fabulous hunters, going to end the feud between Overwatch and a pack of backstabbing werewolves, only to botch the meeting and end up hauling a literal angel away from the scene, away from their mother, into the forest, where none of them belong.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Escape

**Author's Note:**

> i have No idea where this came from or how but i wrote the first chapter and i was like. Holy shit. i literally only have this and one other written but i feel very inclined to write more. tell me what you think! hopefully it makes u go holy shit too
> 
>  
> 
> [if you like this fic and want to see more of my overwatch stuff, click here!](http://archiveofourown.org/series/494398)

                The static of the radio crackling out through the intermittent crashes of thunder is jarring. As the old mustang rolls through the flat gray inside of the valley, shocks of blue and white touch the trees, only a few miles away, momentarily bringing Fareeha out of her drive. That and the body Jesse and her lugged into the back seat reeks of blood and sweat, and God, she wouldn’t let a pretty face like that die on her mom’s old leather bench seats.

                Jesse’s through his third cigarillo, tapping them out on the side of the car, Fareeha letting it slide under the pretense of what they had to do. A bolt of lightning hits only a mile away, close enough that she can see the blip of fire that bursts underneath it, just before the clearing of the trees. Much closer, and it would have arched out onto the road. She grinds the ball of her foot into the gas pedal, already going solid ninety.

                “You think she knows?” Jesse asks, a breath of smoke out the window, the rain pelting his face like daggers.

                “Who, mom?” Fareeha shakes her head, “No, she thinks we’re still on the mission. I checked the calls. She would have yelled at us.”

                “Jesus, the mission.” Fareeha can’t take her eyes off the road, only glancing quickly between the rearview mirror and the windshield to check that they’re not being followed, and to see how the woman is doing. But she knows with all her heart- and experience- that Jesse’s dark eyes are bearing into her head, that Jesse’d be biting too hard down on the tobacco, that Jesse’d be playing with the frays of his obnoxiously bright red serape. Hadn’t he heard of why the British changed uniform? “How’d we even end up here? Where are we going?”

                “If I had a clue, we’d already be there.” She flicked back at the girl again. She had blonde hair- now mostly crusty dark red- along her scalp, the tips of her ponytail that had been caught in the wound. “Shit, Jesse, do you hear that?”

                Jesse leaned out the window, looking up at the sky. “Better be goin’ faster, there, Faree.” He mumbled, the cigarillo falling from his lips in the roar of the wind.

                “Helicopter? The one with-“

                “The invisible one, yeah.”

                “Lord.”

                It wasn’t totally invisible, not really, the edges warped with the surroundings- the sky, but the underbelly was a little too shiny, easy to spot, but only if you had a hawk’s eye. They were nowhere near the breath of the forest, still riding through open grassland. “You think Ma’s in there?” He muttered. “She’s gonna have our asses hung.”

                “Let’s not think about it.” The speedometer was inching at the last miles, one-hundred, one-hundred ten, twenty.

                “You’re gonna break the damn thing.” McCree brought another cigarette to his lips but didn’t light it. “Then if we get outta this shit hole, we’re never gonna be able to use it again.”

                “Jesse, I love you, but would you shut up for one moment and do something for me?”

                He looked back out the window, the shimmering splotch in the overcast still behind them, trailing like some kind of hellish shadow. “Anything, dear.”

                “Okay,” She began, eyes still trained on the road, getting closer, closer to the woods, “We’re going into bad territory, how far are they?”

                “Maybe two minutes behind us? I dunno how fast it’ll go, but looks like they’re not gaining.”

                Fareeha’s grip on the wheel tightened, the smell of guts in the backseat wafting far too heavy into the front row, “You’re gonna need to cover yourself in her blood, so just-“

                “What the hell,” Fareeha turned to see his face, twisted up. “Serious, what the-“

                “She’s a god damned angel, you know that, you saw her, now listen to me-“

                “ _Seriously_ , Faree, what the shit?”

                “Shut up!” The radio snapped off. Silence, silence and the wind howling at the windows. “Mom’s nail polish, you remember her nail polish? The red stuff?”

                He blinked, “Oh, God.”

                “She’s _really_ good at not being seen by monsters, right?”

                “Oh, Lord.”

                The forest, at last, maybe two minutes away. She looked through the rearview mirrors and spotted the helicopter. Up ahead the abandoned highway turned into a slew of dirt roads and bends. They’d lose them fast. Jesse took a deep breath in, and then out, before reaching into the back seat and smattering his hands in the woman’s clothing.

                “This is so wrong, this is so wrong,” he muttered. “Why’d she have to do that- why’d she do that-“

                Why did she do that? The angel had appeared seemingly out of nowhere from the depths of the werewolf den. How had she been healed enough within the pit to not only bring Jesse back from the claws of death in one piece- better than when they had walked in- but to have done something to make Fareeha feel stronger than ever. The woman who had uttered a prayer of some kind, who had saved them, who was dying in their back seat, why? All Fareeha knew was that she had risked her life- was on the verge of martyrdom, the werewolves who had screwed over their mom’s hunting business were dead, and mother’s little angels- not literally- were headed straight into the gulch of unknown territory. Not unknown in the proverbial sense, but in a way that meant not controlled by humans.

                She had one last glance at the mirror to see the helicopter slowing down, one last glance at the plainclothes angel in the back, before thunder rumbled as they shot into the unknown.

                 

               

 


	2. Water Underground

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Don’t trust this place,” Jesse mumbled, hands running over his crossed arms. “Feels too easy. Like the forests doin’ it so we get our necks ripped.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> another short chapter but.. i have the last chapter written! that was actually the second thing i wrote! which means this fic has a higher chance than not of being completed. title from "once in a lifetime" by the talking heads

The squelch of the seats meant they were gone, Fareeha’d never get the sick sent of blood out of them. The woman lay wrapped in Jesse’s serape in the front seat, not bleeding as much now that Jesse had gotten at her with the needles and new line of biotic field their mother’s company had been working on. She was still out cold, the angel, as far as they could tell, breathing, but in wheezes that meant she’d need something better than prototype tech and a warm wool poncho. But what was there out here? They had pulled into a battered road, by a clearing that was large enough to be comfortable- no place to be snuck up on- but the trees near dense enough that anyone foolish enough to fly over would have to squint to see them.

               “Don’t trust this place,” Jesse mumbled, hands running over his crossed arms. “Feels too easy. Like the forests doin’ it so we get our necks ripped.”

                Fareeha bit the inside of her cheek, processing the worry. It was true, it felt rather too comfortable to be right and real in a place with a back story like this. With as much superstition around it, it could very well be called the Bermuda triangle of South East Oregon. Besides, they hadn’t run up on any of the residents, which either meant they had come across the one safe space in the entire wilderness, or they were being watched.

                Probably the latter. Didn’t mean they had to think about it, though.

                “I still can’t believe you took out that entire den.”

                “You know when to be quiet now, Jesse,” Fareeha warned. She’d rather not be bait for whatever relatives those more urban wolves had back in the country.

                “We were just supposed to destabilize it- just supposed to punish and-“

                “ _Jesse_ ,” she hissed, catching him off guard. She was not one to be that sharp with her tongue, but given the circumstances, and the state of their car, she went all and hissed.

                “Sorry, sis.” He huffed, squatting in the tall grass by the mustang, looking at the ground. Fareeha slid out of the driver’s seat and open door down in front of him, wishing she had some kind of destructive pastime like Jesse did with his smoking. “I’m just- holy, hell, what’re we supposed to do now?”

                She shrugged, looking up at the sky, strangely clear, where it had been bordering on as close to a Hurricane as they could get in the west just moments ago. The warmth of the sun was nice, though, she couldn’t complain.

                “Why’d we even run in the first place? For the angel?”

                “ _Sh.”_

              “For the lady? Is that fine?” He frowned, “How secretive do we gotta be if we’re gonna die in a few days anyways?”

                “A few days might be an overstatement.”

                “Exactly.” Jesse was sitting with his knees up, hand thrown out overtop in frustration. “Now, be frank with me. Are we really doing this for some angel we have no knowledge of?”

                She looked him in the eyes, square in the face, he was squinting in the afternoon sun- uncomfortably warm now- his eyebrows drawn together and mouth pulled in an unsatisfying frown. Fareeha looked at the woman in the seat behind her, only the top of her head and arm under her cheek visible from the ground. She looked better now, less on the verge of dying, her already pale cheeks not as pallid as before. Why had they risked everything for her?

                “Did you see her wrist, Fara?” Jesse asked, voice a touch softer, a touch more worried.

                She shook her head no.

                “There’s a number.”

                She bit her lip. An angel was one thing-

                “The helicopter,” she said to herself, “So mom knows.”

                The chattering of leaves and snake grass was haunting. Without any warning, the sun that was just getting too hot was replaced by a freezing feeling. Jesse’s eyes flicked about the perimeter, not moving an inch. His hand crawled to the revolver at his hips, Fareeha going to the handgun at a matching holster. The handgun she had personally oversaw the creation of, the one with that didn’t just shoot silver-gold bullets (lined down the middle, for extra “ _ka’plow!_ ”), but fit to her grip like well worn glove, the one she had shot _him_ with. The one she kept on her at all times, day or night.

                “I’d hate to say we gotta go deeper in, but damn, I’m prickling from the slightest breeze ‘round here.” Jesse said, still alert.

                “You might be right. Hopefully you fit in the middle of the front row, then.” The tease didn’t sound threatening, didn’t sound goofy, but cautionary. The two had been hunting together since Jesse wound up on the Amari’s front door dripping werewolf blood and brandishing a stake, only to pass out as soon as he introduced himself. _‘Hi, there, m’name’s Jesse, Jesse McCree, I just killed a werewolf, and I’m might be dying. You Ana?‘_ Non-fatal, certainly not enough gutting to turn him into a beast, just enough to put his trust in the name the werewolf had called, asking if he was some minion of her’s. The two of them, Fareeha and Jesse, they had been nothing short of siblings since he opened his eyes again. Sometimes, Ana said she’d forget they weren’t twins- always thinking the same thing, reading each other like open books- even though they weren’t related or nearly the same age. Almost scary, almost paranormal. She scoffed when Jesse had said that. But it was true, wasn’t it? Wasn’t it?

                The angel was pushed in the middle, Jesse sliding in beside her, thankful the front row was a bench too. Fareeha set them in drive, the clutch only moving with the slightest difficulty. They left the meadow for the road they had come on, turning off into a cleaner one, landing themselves into a spot of heavy rain. God, the weather was wild around here. Probably had to do with some witchcraft barriers set up back when the threat of Overwatch was just beginning to brew. Maybe that was a part of how they hadn’t run into any strangers yet, maybe they were invisible to them. Fareeha hoped to high heaven that wasn’t the case. Otherwise death was closer than either her or Jesse could fathom. Besides, it was probably the angel blood, there was so much of it, the car was better concealed than an invisible helicopter.

                Night was growing over the woods, the moon creeping out of the clouds and over into view of the mirror. “Little too close to full than I’d like.” Jesse mumbled, itching his chin.

                The angel stirred. Fareeha tried not to slam on the break, but the lack of weight on the gas pedal in shock threw them forward. “Did she?”

                “She did.”

                They looked at her, she mumbled something under her breath, head moving just a tick. “We need to pull over.” Fareeha said.

                “What? Why?” Jesse stuttered, “No way in hell are we stopping in these witching hours.”

                “We need to get a better look at her, listen to her breathing, Jesse!”

                The woman was wheezing, her breath hard and strained. Jesse winced, “Alright, but find a clearing, okay?”

                She nodded. The search had begun, but she had a feeling they wouldn’t find much. Not anymore. They were driving farther and farther into the thicket of trees, losing the chance of thin foliage long ago. Fareeha blinked as the radio began to buzz. There was no way they had gotten a signal all the way out here.

                “What’s it playing?” Jesse asked, trying to listen.

                “Hush.”

                Under a fog of heavy static a voice was crackling, some guitar riff or another.

                “You hear that?”

                Fareeha listened.

                “No, not the radio, the, the- it sounds like water. Like a- like a river.”

                A river, as soon as he had said it, the sound of the water flowing was undeniable, and growing louder by the minute, that and the rain that had begun to fall in sheets. The weather was temporal, but the radio was more audible as the river noises grew.

                Jesse hummed along, “ _Letting the days go by, let the water hold me down-_ Once in a Lifetime! Ha, who woulda thunk-“

                “Turn it off- I can’t think-“

                “Aw, Faree, don’t like-“

                “Turn it _off_ , I can’t-“

                “Huh?” The woman opened her eyes, shaking her head suddenly. Fareeha slammed on the breaks, the car speeding full force into the river, the car lurching forward and the sound of crunching metal and bones.

 “ _Shit!_ ”


	3. Cry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> huh

There was a wolf howl.

She saw her blonde ponytail splayed over her eyes, she could feel the blood dripping from her nose, the water around her, seeping into the car. Her arms were so weak, every inch of muscle was burning and sore, but she pushed out, pushed past the strange man with the cowboy hat, breaking the glass with his fist, the door opening, the man rolled out from under her, out of the car, she looked back, the most beautiful image of a human lying in the driver’s seat, her mouth slightly open, the bright white moonlight dripping over her like soft silk, she unbuckled her and pulled her and the man out.

The padding of paws and the subdued rustles of brush and bush slowed down as a sharp yell came from someone out of the sky, beyond her vision. The spirit shivered into the view, an apparition, the girl from the sky turned, the purples and pinks of her robes spinning with her, her hair wild under the large hat. She winked and reached out her hand. She took it.

+

                McCree was warm, warmer than he had felt in the last day and a half, the blanket around his cheeks and the subtle heat of a flame in a fireplace warming his side. He felt hazy and soft, like he had just eaten a good meal and had taken a nap. And maybe he had, he couldn’t remember, but sometimes a big dinner would knock him out like that.

                “Hmpf, a sound sleeper too.” He heard a voice say, indignant, young.

                “You should see him after Thanksgiving.” Another said. This one was familiar, Fareeha. They must be at home, Jesse had passed out on the couch again, Ana throwing a quilt over him. But their couch at home didn’t feel much like this, didn’t feel like a dirt floor with a mat thrown over it, and that voice couldn’t have been Ana’s.

                He shot up, eyes opening against the brightly lit room. It was a small, hut like kitchen and living area, with a bed in the corner, absolutely covered in quilts and throw blankets. And there Jesse was, sleeping on the ground. How nice. His eyes focused and found Fareeha sitting at a low wooden table, a short black haired girl at the other side, and their blonde angelic guest at another chair, farther put from the dining table. The angel’s face wasn’t caked in blood anymore, and as Jesse looked down, he found his shirt was not either. It was perfectly clean. What kind of witchcraft-

                “Oh, look at him, he finally decides to wake up. That’s rude, you know, not even introducing yourself.” The black haired girl- who he now realized was in full witch get up- cape and silly handspun dresses and all. “My name’s Hana, I’m a witch.”

                “A witch?” He squinted, “Fareeha are you-?”

                “Yes, I knew she was a witch, and _Hana_ so graciously allowed us to stay the night here, even cleaned our clothing and made us dinner.” Fareeha explained. She was wearing a cloak similar to Hana’s, but a dark blue.

                “Yeah, but, whaddya want in return? There must be some catch, right?” Jesse frowned.

                Hana rolled her eyes, “The only _catch_ , cowboy,” She smiled something devilish, “Is I get to talk to you about what you’re doing out there. That’s all I want.”

                “Sure, after you fatten us up and eat us, witchy.” Jesse growled.

                She scoffed, “You think I want to eat fat? That’s literally the worst part of meat.”

                “So you’re gonna eat us plain, then.” Jesse was still scowling.

                “Jesse, she’s not going to eat us.” Fareeha scolded.

                “True, and besides, if I was going to kill you, I woulda done it already.” She waved her hand out like the conversation was a joke. “Besides, I’m a human, I’d feel bad about letting one die out there.”

                Jesse sighed, leaning back onto his elbow, rubbing his forehead in confusion. He did not remember walking here, any meal, any sort of deal. He did not remember the blonde lady waking, “And you, yes, you, darlin’.” He looked up at the lady who seemed stunned to have been spoken to. “Can y’speak?”

                She looked to her lap, where her hands laid. “You don’t have to, it’s alright, jus’, Fareeha, can you tell me what’s goin’ on?”

                Fareeha smiled, taking a sip of coffee, “ _Angela_ , here, she somehow alerted Hana to our presence and saved us from a wolf pack.”

                “Angela,” He said, she was still looking at him. “Are you a-“

                “Jesse.” Fareeha warned, eyes prodding him. He looked to Hana, another time for the question, then.

                “I’m an angel.” She whispered, quick, a confession. Hana seemed unfazed by the announcement.  If anything, she looked like she had known it, with her cocky hundred-yard smile, baring into Jesse. He felt strangely naked.

                “How long?” Jesse asked.

                “I was fifteen.”

                “Jesus.” He averted his eyes, the stones in the floor growing more interesting by the millisecond.

                “ Do you know,” Hana began, turning her gaze from Jesse to Angela, still as intense, the beads on her layers of necklaces clinking, “what kind of blood, then?”

                Fareeha gave Jesse a look, questioning, frightened, even, unusual for her eyes so fierce. Hana shook her head, standing up to grab her tall oak staff. “Nevermind. Not my place, huh? It’s alright, I’ll repay you for invading. I’ve got some business with some werewolves.”

                Jesse tried to stand, his legs too weak to hold him, toppling over, “At what, partner? Who has business with werewolves at two at night?”

                “It’s almost six, cowboy, and unlike you-“ she prodded the end of her staff into his chest, pushing him all the way back onto the cot. “I know the forest, and it knows me. It won’t bend the road and get me stuck in some ditch, needing the most powerful witch in all of the forest to help her.”

                “The most powerful? You’re awfully scrawny for a- _oof-“_ She hit him again.

“Watch what you say under my house, newbie.”  She huffed, “Plus, I bet I could beat your ass anytime I wanted, _pardner._ ” As she walked to the door, her robes seemed to shrink and grow, folding out into a white cotton tee shirt and navy blue fighting pants, sneakers, and then a shimmering purple robe falling from her shoulders. “I’ll be out for maybe-“ she looked up, counting, “ten hours, you can eat whatever you find here, and I’d go over next door and say hi to Lucio, oh, and,” she flashed finger guns at McCree, “watch your back, nothing here trusts you, and nothing here forgives you for trespassing. See ya!”

                She skipped out and left the door slamming shut. The three looked at each other in awe.

                “So,” Jesse began, “you’re an angel?”

                


End file.
